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raaco-Affisiicaa 



FORM 



A Variable Diagram for fitting Dresses and 

other Garments; adapted equally to 

Professional and Home use: 

with Explanations, &c. X 

f Si fcr /0 ' WA 



PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



1882. 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, 1882, 
1 y E. P. Tkbadwat. 



THE 



FRMCOMERKM 



I 



S adjustable to any size or figure, and requires only 

three measures, viz : — 
Shoulder measure. 
Under-arm measure. 
And Waist measure. 

DIRECTIONS. 

The shoulder measure should be taken with 
care ; thus: — With the left hand hold the end of the 
tape exactly on the prominent bone at the back of the 
neck ; with the right hand, pass the tape over the front 
of the shoulder, under the arm, and over the shoulder- 
blade, drawing it firmly and snugly up to the first point 
of measurement at the back of the neck. The tape 
must touch the hollow of the arm distinctly, and the arm 
must be allowed to hang down naturally while the 
measure is being taken. This measure governs the 
neck, shoulder, bust, and back. 

The under-arm, measure determines the length 
of the waist. Place the end of the tape close up under 
the arm with the arm down, and measure only down to 
the smallest part of the waist, taking care not to make 
it too long ; for if the waist is cut too long it is spoiled, 
but if cut too short it can easily be remedied. This is 



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always with the understanding that the waist is made 
in Basque form ; with a round waist of course the case 
is reversed. 

For the tvaist measure pass the tape tightly 
around the bottom of the waist. 

FRONT. 

To use the Franco-American Form, notice first, that 
all the parts marked A belong to the front of the waist ; 
all those marked S belong to the back; and those 
marked C to the sleeve. Observe the figures in the 
illustration, and put the parts together as there indicated, 
sliding one upon another. To mark out a Basque, 
take for example the measurements of a medium size ; 
viz : 

Shoulder measure, ... 22 inches. 

Under-arm measure, . . . y}4 inches. 

Waist measure, ... 24 inches. 

Having put the pieces together, lay the form on the 
cloth or lining with Nos. 6 and 22 next to the selvedge. 
Slide No. 2 down to 22 on the scale of No. 1, so that 
the lower left-hand corner of the brass slide shall come 
exactly to the line marked 22. Set No. 6 so that the 
outside edge shall come exactly to the line 22 on the 
scale of No. 4. Place No. 5 so that the lower edge shall 
be at the line 7}^ on the scale of No. 6. This gives the 
length of the waist under the arm, but not on the front. 
The bottom of the waist in front is always one or two 
inches lower than that under the arm. This must be 
noticed in cutting a round waist. Next, place the upper 
end of No. 7 so that the left-hand point shall be at 4 



II 



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on the small scale above the slot, and bring the left- 
hand (inside) edge to 12 on the scale of No. 5, then 
slide the upper end of No. 8 close up to the lower edge 
of No. 5 at the same time letting the lower end swing 
out from 2 to 4 inches for the fullness of the basque. 
Notice the fastenings, and pull out the key, or thumb 
piece, to loosen the button, and push it firmly into the 
shank to fasten when each piece is adjusted. Set the 
upper end of No. 9 to the left of the little slot and 
fasten, letting it hang nearly parallel to No. 7. 

Set No. 10 (large dart) with the index point between 
2 and 3 as indicated in the figure ; draw the lower 
parts down until the whole length of the opening is 
eleven inches, and the width at the lower end about 
one inch. 

Fasten all the buttons securely. Place the upper 
point of the opening about 4^ inches from the outer 
edge of No. 6, and exactly even with the middle of 
the hinge. Notice now, that the widest part of the 
opening is about an inch below No. 5, and No. 9 is 
about half way between the sewing lines of No. 10 
and No. 7. 

Now mark with a pencil on the cloth close to those 
edges where heavy or broken lines appear. (You will 
notice that some of the pieces will thus be marked on 
both sides, and some not at all ; as for instance No. 2 
and Nos. 7 and 8 are marked on both sides, the heavy 
lines to cut by, the broke?i lines to sew by. 

The darts are marked only to sew by; Nos. 1, 4, 
and 5 are not marked at all, although it is well, for 
convenience, in case the Form should accidently be 
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under No. 5, and also short lines marking the angle 
where No. 1 joins No. 4, to serve as gauges and starting 
points.) 

As the length of the Basque is a matter of taste, it 
may be cut any desired length below the waist. The 
dart No. 10 will be continued to the bottom of Basque, 
according to the lines indicated. Some forms require 
nearly as wide a dart below the waist line as above it ; 
but more, require less. No. 9 is finished by two 
straight lines beginning at the lower edge of No. 5 
and meeting in a point near or at the bottom of the 
Basque. No. 22 must be swung out from No. 6 as 
in the illustration, more or less according to the full- 
ness of the abdomen. This is the French (one dart), 
system and gives a more elegant fit to the waist, than 
any other. Some ladies, however, being accustomed 
to the American (or two darts) system, may still 
prefer it. 

For this form, set the index of No. 10 between 1 
and 2, and place the point of the opening about 3^ 
from the outer edge of No. 6, and even with the middle 
of the hinge, and mark as before. Then place it again, 
parallel to the first dart, the point about 3 inches 
further back, and mark the second dart, which should 
be about 1 inch from the first on the waist line ; also 
make the under-arm dart (No. 9,) one inch wide at the 
waist line, instead of one and a half. If one does not 
wish for the under-arm dart, make the two front darts 
each two inches wide, (by setting the index point to 2) 
and then take up the small hip-gore or wrinkle, which 
forms itself when the under-arm dart is not used. 






Ladies, Gentlemen and Children, there is no System in 
the world so simple and so reliable, and which can be 
so quickly understood with as little practice. 

The width of the Back determines how large the 
Darts must be. As the whole waist measure is given 
in the Fronts, (one half on each Front) it follows that 
the extra size allowed by the back must be taken up in 
the darts. Thus : 

If the Back is 4 the Darts must take up 4 inches ; — 
i. e. 2y 2 on the front dart, and 1% on the under-arm 
dart. If the Back is 5, then the darts must take up 5 
inches also, 3^ on the front, and 1^ on the side, &c, 
A very little practice will enable the most inexperi- 
enced to fit any Garment well and easily. For Night- 
dresses follow the same proportions, but allow from 2 
to 4 numbers more on the shoulder measure and arm- 
scye ; the back form will be omitted, and the back cut 
nearly or quite as wide as the front. By allowing on 
the arm-scyes, back and front, the under-arm seams will 
be found to adjust themselves. 

Outside Garments can be marked and cut to fit 
exactly, by following the same directions as to shoulder 
measures and arm-scye. 

It is evident that the great resources of the Franco - 
American Form, adapt it to all ranges of measures, from 
the largest persons to the smallest children, and even to 
dolls. Herein it supplies a want that has never before 
been met, in fitting children's clothing, and it is 
a complete, always ready and entirely reliable friend 
and servant, to the Professional Dress Maker and the 
Household Seamstress. 



16 



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small arms, or where a very high shoulder is desired. 
In many cases the shoulder will be sufficiently high, if 
No. i is placed stationary to the ends of the lines by 
Nos. 3 and 4, and the whole curve marked at once 
without swinging. 

REMARKS AND HINTS. 

In taking the measures around the arm, bear in mind 
that they must be taken very loosely, as the sleeve makes 
up very much smaller than would seem probable. For 
instance, if the wrist measure is 8 inches, that is in 
reality the measure of the hand, as it must be large 
enough for the hand to pass through easily; then if 
the hand can easily pass through the tape held at 8 
inches it will be found very tight for a finished sleeve, 
and almost impossible to pull off; one inch should be 
allowed in every nine inches where the measures are 
taken only sufficiently loose for the arm or hand to 
slip through easily. In taking the waist measures, it 
is to be observed that the measures must be taken 
rather loosely on thin people, and very tight on those 
who are very fleshy, and even then, one or two numbers 
less than the actual measure will be found large enough. 
The reason of this is that a superabundance of flesh 
interferes with the symmetry of proportion, and we 
allow for this disadvantage and partly overcome it 
by the preceding directions. In fact, there is no defect 
or disadvantage of personal form, which is not more 
completely remedied or concealed by the F. A. Form 
than by any other system of measuring or cutting 
Garments. 

For every garment depending from the shoulders for 



15 



and at 12 instead of 10, on No. 6 ; then for the under 
you must set it at 10 on No. 5, and at 8 on No. 6, 
letting the wrist remain unchanged, or only varied 
slightly, observing the same directions. When the 
Form is adjusted for the upper part of sleeve, mark 
across the top of No. 5, and the bottom of No. 7; then 
mark from 24 outside of No. 3, down to the bottom line 
of No. 7, and from the lower corner of No. 5 outside 
of No. 4, down to the bottom of No. 7. Then measure 
from No. 5 about half way between Nos. 3 and 4, 3 
inches up, for the 6th measure, (height of shoulder) 
to the highest point of the shoulder, place the eyelet of 
No. 1 at that point, holding No. 1 face down, and 
secure the position with a pin through the eyelet and 
remove all the other parts. Then swing the shorter 
end of No. 1 down till the upper edge touches the end 
of the line made by No. 3, and mark from the eyelet 
to that point. Then swing the longer end down till 
the upper edge touches the end of the line drawn by 
No. 4, and mark from the eyelet down to that point. 

It is more convenient to remove the Form in order 
to mark the shoulder curve, provided the lines have 
been made accurately, and not too long. 

For the under part of sleeve, turn the cloth the other 
side up, and adjust the Form as has been directed, and 
mark all around precisely as before and remove the 
Form. Then take No. 1 face up, eyelet turned down- 
ward, set the arrow point S to the top of inside line 
of sleeve, % inch in, to allow for seam, and bring the 
outer edge to the end of outside line, ^ inch in, also 
to allow for seam. 

No. 2 is a shorter, sharper curve, more suited for 



14 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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11 




,11111 I1UI Hill Hill inn inn inn ltul HHl HW UtU I 
013 964 920 5 




G. H. Roberts, Pr., 831 Arch Street. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




013 964 920 5 



